Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs ""radio-hybrid"" measurements of air shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions for fluorescence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on request. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytical Assessment of a Home Made Capillary Electrophoresis Equipment with Linear Charge Coupled Device for Visible Light Absorption Detection in the Determination of Food Dyes

The performance of modular home made capillary electrophoresis equipment with spectrophotometric detection, at a visible region by means of a miniaturized linear charge coupled device, was evaluated for the determination of four food dyes. This system presents a simple but efficient home made cell detection scheme. A computer program that converts the spectral data after each run into the electropherograms was developed to evaluate the analytical parameters. The dyes selected for analytical evaluation of the system were Brilliant Blue FCF, Fast Green FCF, Sunset Yellow FCF, and Amaranth. Separation was carried out in a 29cm length and 75 mu m I.D fused silica capillary, using 10mmolL-1 borate buffer at pH 9, with separation voltage of 7.5kV. The detection limits for the dyes were between 0.3 and 1.5mgL-1 and the method presented adequate linearity over the ranges studied, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The method was applied for determination and quantification of these dyes in fruit juices and candies.